Apparatus for quenching rolled products



Sept- 1964 R. A, SCHULTZ APPARATUS FOR QUENCHING ROLLED PRODUCTS Filed Dec. 5, 1962 "Ema.

INVENTOR. ROBERT A. SCHULTZ By Z; g

Attorney United States Patent Oflice 3,151,197 iatented Sept. 29, 1964 3,151,197 APPARATUS FOR QUENCHING ROLLED PRODUCTS Robert A. Schultz, Penn Hills Township, Allegheny County, Pa, assignor to United States Steel Corporation, a corporation of New Jersey Filed Dec. 5, 1962, Ser. No. 242,534 3 Claims. (Cl. 266-6) This invention relates to the quenching of elongated products as delivered from a hot-rolling mill and, in particular, to apparatus for progressively quenching a product so it will remain substantially straight.

The principal object of the invention is to make sure that the workpiece remains commercially straight after quenching, thus eliminating the need for subsequent straightening operations.

A further object of the invention is to provide an apparatus responsive to the degree and direction of workpiece bowing during quenching, capable of automatically changing the area on which the quench spray contacts the workpiece in such manner as to cause the workpiece to bow in the opposite direction.

Many metal products rolled continuously must be heated before or during their processing. Often these products then require quenching, either to cool them for handling or to improve the metallurgical properties of the metal. Unsymmetrical heating or cooling causes the workpiece to bow or warp during processing. In the heating and quenching of pipe, this difiiculty is circumvented by continuously rotating the workpiece as it progresses through the processing equipment. When treating prodnot that cannot be rotated, however, it is necessary to provide equipment for straightening said material after heating or quenching. My invention eliminates this subsequent straightening and thus results in a substantial reduction in the cost of processing metal product rolled on a continuous basis.

A complete understanding of the invention may be obtained from the following detailed description and explanation which refer to the accompanying drewings illustrating the present preferred embodiment. In the drawmgs:

FIGURE 1 is aside elevation with parts broken away and in vertical section, showing the apparatus of my invention;

FIGURE 2 is a vertical section through a spray-manifold mounting frame;

FIGURE 3 is a diagrammatic view showing how the apparatus operates to correct bowing of the workpiece; and

FIGURE 4 is a partial elevation of a modification.

Referring now in detail to the drawings and, for the present, particularly to FIGURE 1, a workpiece such as a billet, slab or the like, emerging from a furnace or a hot-rolling mill, at a high temperature such as 1800 F is started successively through two spaced roll stands 11.

and 12. Upper and lower quenching-spray manifolds 13 and 14 are assembled in a rigid frame 15 through which piece 10 passes, and the frame is pivoted in spaced uprights 16 on a horizontal transverse axis. The manifolds have angularly disposed nozzles 17 adapted to discharge jets 18 of cooling fluid on the top and bottom of the piece at an acute angle thereto. This angle is initially determined so that the quench pattern will maintain straightness on a straight workpiece.

Stand 12 is provided on the entry side thereof with upper and lower cross rails or transoms 19 and 20. A;

bell crank 21 is pivoted to the upper transom. One arm 21a thereof has a roller 22 journaled therein adapted to ride on the upper surface of workpiece 10. The other arm 21b is connected by a link 23 to the rigid frame 15 near upper manifold 13. A link 24 extends from the rigid frame 15 near the lower manifold 14 to a tension spring 25 connected to the lower transom 2%). The spring tends to hold roller 22 in contact with the workpiece.

Workpiece 10 is initially progressed from stand 11 to stand 12. Jets 18 of quenching fluid supplied to manifolds 13 and 14 through flexible hose, strike the workpiece 10 in the area on the top and bottom as they are positioned to do by the location of roller 22. If the workpiece initially tends to bow upwardly between stands, as shown in FIGURE 3, the manifold frame 15 is tilted clockwise by the resulting angular movement of crank 21 that is caused by the upward force on roller 22 exerted by workpiece 10. This tilting displaces the areas of contact between the jets and the workpiece. In effect, the range of the upper jets is reduced and that of the lower jets is increased. Such displacement cools and shrinks an area on top of the workpiece ahead of like action on the bottom and tends to remove the upward bowing. Conversely, should a downward bow start to develop, counterclockwise tilting of frame 15 results, with similar corrective action.

FIGURE 4 shows a modified form of apparatus in which the tilting manifold frame 26 has a bracket arm 27 mounting a roller 28 in contact with workpiece 10. The bracket and roller constitute, with frame 26, a built-in bell-crank means. A spring 29 urges the frame in a counterclockwise direction.

For a workpiece with a more nearly equal transverse axis or a circular cross section, such as structural shapes and piping, where sprays are applied to the sides or edges as well as to the top and bottom, an additional spray arrangement as shown on FIGURE 1 can be used to control horizontal bowing simultaneously with the spray arrangement that controls vertical bowing.

Although I have disclosed herein the preferred embodiment of my invention, I intend to cover as well any change or modification therein which may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.

I claim:

1. Apparatus for progressively quenching an elongated workpiece from elevated temperature, at a point in its path of longitudinal travel, comprising a frame mounted for tilting movement on a horizontal axis, a pair of manifolds carried by said frame and positioned above and below said path, respectively, nozzles on said manifolds adapted to discharge quenching jets on the top and bottom of said piece at an oblique angle thereto, bell-crank means connected to said frame and engaging said piece whereby bowing of the latter causes saidmeans to effect tilting of the frame thereby relatively shifting in opposite directions the areas of impingence of quenching fluid on the top and bottom of said piece, and means biasing said bellcrank means into engagement with said piece.

2. Apparatus as defined in claim 1, characterized by said first-mentioned means being a bell crank mounted on a fixed pivot and connected by a link to said frame.

3. Apparatus as defined in claim 1, characterized by said first-mentioned means being a roller mounted on one side of said frame, offset laterally thereof.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Carson et al July 24, 1956 

1. APPARATUS FOR PROGRESSIVELY QUENCHING AN ELONGATED WORKPIECE FROM ELEVATED TEMPERATURE, AT A POINT IN ITS PATH OF LONGITUDINAL TRAVEL, COMPRISING A FRAME MOUNTED FOR TILTING MOVEMENT ON A HORIZONTAL AXIS, A PAIR OF MANIFOLDS CARRIED BY SAID FRAME AND POSITIONED ABOVE AND BELOW SAID PATH, RESPECTIVELY, NOZZLES ON SAID MANIFOLDS ADAPTED TO DISCHARGE QUENCHING JETS ON THE TOP AND BOTTOM OF SAID PIECE OF AN OBLIQUE ANGLE THERETO, BELL-CRANK MEANS CONNECTED TO SAID FRAME AND ENGAGING SAID PIECE WHEREBY BOWING OF THE LATTER CAUSES SAID MEANS TO EFFECT TILTING OF THE FRAME THEREBY RELATIVELY SHIFTING IN OPPOSITE DIRECTIONS THE AREAS OF IMPINGENCE OF QUENCHING FLUID ON THE TOP AND BOTTOM OF SAID PIECE, AND MEAND BIASING SAID BELLCRANK MEANS INTO ENGAGEMENT WITH SAID PIECE. 